Return Home
by Kame-Fey
Summary: A century after Breaking Dawn, the Cullens return home to Renesmee and Jake. When Bella is killed after visiting her father's grave, Renesmee and her family have to track down the murderer and save Edward's sanity. Mostly Renesmee's POV.
1. A Century Reunion

**[[ A/N: Okay so this is my second fanfic and my first Twilight one. I don't own any characters in this.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Okay so this is set about…well I don't know how long. Approx. 100 years after Breaking Dawn finishes (although the world is about the same as it is now). The Cullens have moved away once Nessie finished her growth. Bella, Edward, and the family went to Dartmouth. Renesmee stayed in La Push with Jacob. The story is set upon the Cullens' return to Forks]]**

**[[3****rd**** A/N: Oh. And I don't really note that Jasper and Rosalie technically have the last name Hale. I apologize for the characters' OOC-ness.]]**

--

Renesmee's POV

--

I shifted needlessly from foot to foot anxiously. My eyes tracked the ticking second hand of the clock above the security gate. 49. 50. 51. 52…

"Anxious much, Nessie?" Jake asked with a laugh. My boyfriend grinned crookedly as he sprawled across three airport seats.

"Shuttup, Jake," I snapped. "I haven't seen my family in over 80 years. Not since Alice and Jasper's last wedding."

"Not so loud," Jake murmured under his breath. I was unsure if he was bitter about my family's return to Washington or not. His only real connection to the Cullens had been Bella, but they were just friends now.

"How about some maturity? I thought you were friends with Dad now," I sighed.

"I am," Jake insisted. Stubborn and thick-headed, but I loved him anyway.

Passengers had begun to trickle out of the security exit. I studied each of their faces, eager to catch a glimpse of anyone from my family. A few minutes passed. I was beginning to get nervous.

Then, a face I recognized. At first I barely saw my small, pixie cousin.

"Aunt Alice!" I said, not exactly needing to shout. She could hear me even if I whispered. My muscles were tensing in anticipation. I turned quickly and grabbed Jake off the seat. He grunted but stood close to my side.

"Nessie!" Alice screamed in excitement (obviously she didn't care that I could hear just as well as her). "Hurry!" she hissed at someone around the corner.

The next Cullens to step out were my uncles, Jasper and Emmett. The blonde, lean vampire was definitely dwarfed by his muscular brother. Jasper was clearly glued to Alice but smiled sincerely when he saw me. Emmett grinned and waved quickly.

Rosalie appeared next. Her stony, perfect face brightened immediately when she saw me, her favorite and only niece. I glowed with pleasure when I saw my statuesque, blonde aunt join my family at the mouth of the tunnel. Rosalie was like my second mom. She had been since I could remember.

Then, my "grandparents." Carlisle and Emse. Their arms were linked together as they glided gracefully into view.

I held my breath. Everyone was there. Except the ones I wanted to see most. My parents.

Then I saw them.

Bella and Edward, my parents, were the last to appear. I could hardly keep myself from collapsing. I wanted to rush over to them, but they hadn't even cleared the exit yet. They looked rather tired, or rather, they had dark rings around their eyes. That worried me. When a vampire gained rings around his or her eyes, it meant that blood was needed.

When all the Cullens had assembled, they all crossed the security exit. I rushed (well as humanly as I could) over to them. Suddenly, I was surrounded by my family. Mom and Dad were hugging onto me tightly, kissing my cheeks. Alice was poking and prodding my baggy, Roxy tee and ripped jeans. Rosalie was trying to hug me around my parents while fingering my new, short curls. Esme and Carlisle weren't in the mosh but standing close.

"Jake, get in here," I called to my boyfriend. He just stood there, awkwardly observing the Cullen reunion.

The mob around me broke up. Mom's arm was hooked through mine, but Dad had stepped forward towards my boyfriend. "Hi, Jacob."

I frowned. I guess a rift had developed again between my father and my boyfriend.

I sighed. Whatever. I would talk to Jake about this later.

"You guys, its great to see you again!" I exclaimed to my family.

"Great to see you too, Nessie," my mom murmured, squeezing my tighter. "I've missed you so much."

"Yah!" Alice chimed in. "Why didn't you visit? New York is just a few hours flight from SeaTac."

"There never was the time," I said simply, my face flushing red. My mother smiled softly. I guess my easily reddened cheeks were genetic, courtesy of my then-human mom.

"I can believe that!" Emmett chuckled. I groaned. I remembered my uncle's twisted sense of humor and how he often used it on my mother (until that fateful arm-wrestling match).

"Hey why don't we catch up in the car?" Carlisle suggested, herding us towards the parking garage.

"Where are you guys going to live now?" I asked.

"It'll be hard," Jasper commented. I looked at him. His scars glinted in the bright, airport fluorescence, invisible to the human eye. "Most definitely there are still people in Forks who would recognize us, even from pictures. For now, Esme found us a townhouse in Seattle." Rosalie nodded in agreement.

--

My family's new residence definitely wasn't lackluster. Even without Esme's renovation and interior decorating skills, the place was huge!

Settled in the suburbs around Seattle (already known to be extravagant), the townhouse was three stories tall above ground with an extra basement underground. The outside walls were long, wooden panels painted a deep, grayish-brown color. White trimmed windows jutted out slightly under purple overhangs, surrounded by orange shingled walls. A garden flourished around the perimeter of the house, blooming full of roses and tomatoes.

"Wow," I could only say, as my mom parked the car (a new, custom made, Purple and white Ferarri) in front of the door.

Edward laughed from the backseat. "It's only temporary until we can get our new identities settled into the community. Then we'll move into something larger."

"But this is perfect," I insisted, pressing my face against the glass window. "You have to let me visit."

"Of course, sweetie," Mom said, cutting the engine. She swung open the door and stepped out. I pushed open the passenger seat, hearing Edward do the same behind me.

Jake sat still in the other backseat. His eyes traced the outline of the house, studying every contour. "C'mon Jake!" I urged.

Dad laughed. "So Jake still hasn't given up his powers?"

I shook my head. "He hasn't tried. Both of us are pretty serious about each other."

Dad nodded. "And the other wolves?"

Jake looked the other way. Obviously, he had been listening in to our conversation.

"Only Quil and even he is getting close," I whispered sadly. "Most of them were able to let go of their powers fifty years ago."

"Jake, I'm so sorry," Bella said softly, opening her friend's door. She knelt down and held onto his large hand. "If I had known…"

"Sam and Leah stopped phasing close to when Charlie died. You had your own troubles," Jake muttered, turning he head the other way. A pang of sadness coursed through my stomach.

"Hey. Like the house?!" Alice asked, hopping out from Emmett's new Jeep Wrangler.

She, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper had ridden in the Jeep with Carlisle and Esme following up.

I nodded vigorously. "It's beautiful. Shame its only for a few months."

Rosalie snorted. "Please. The new house will be even better. Besides, this'll be my and Emmett's second house after the move is complete." I chuckled. _Probably will need more than one_. Edward grinned discreetly, keeping his face aimed at the ground.

--

The outside of the townhouse couldn't even compare. Not even close. Modeled after a modernized cabin, Esme had spared no expense in décor. I smelled the slick pine finish before even stepping into the house.

"So your room will be on the third floor," Alice finished explaining. "Just when you want to visit. I know you'll be staying in La Push for a while."

I smiled in apology. Of course I would still be staying with Jake. He was my life.

We all eventually ended up in the living room. It was the largest room in the house, taking up half of the second floor. Five couches made of brown leather were lined up in a semicircle around an ornate, eighteenth century, rosewood coffee table.

It felt good to be all reunited. Jake and I. Mom and Dad. Alice and Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett. Carlisle and Esme.

We all chatted on for hours, just simply catching up on what was going on in each other's life.

Mom and Dad had gone to Dartmouth not long after they had left Forks. Alice and Emmett tagged along for the heck of it. Mom eventually decided to study history while Dad took a few classes in American lit (he mostly spent his time trying to tutor Mom). Rosalie had been helping Esme renovate a few run-down apartments in the outskirts of Hanover. Carlisle, of course, had taken up residency in the local hospital.

After Mom and Dad had spent four years at Dartmouth, they moved first to Augusta, then Toronto, then Manhattan, then several smaller towns along the Canadian border.

"It was just like Forks," Mom explained with a nostalgic grin. "We all went back to high school."

"I was half expecting to meet another shield," Dad joked, elbowing Mom teasingly. I laughed. I had heard Mom and Dad's 'how we met' stories countless of times.

Then it was my turn. I stuck my hand onto the surface of the coffee table. One by one, my relatives placed their hands on mine. Their skin was mildly chillier than my own temperature, but not overly so.

I ran through what had happened since I last saw them at the wedding. Jake and I had moved in together. Billy was hesitant (that would be an understatement) about having me around, but after some coaxing from Rachel, it was settled. The packs ran patrols as usual, but not so strictly. Ten years after I had moved in, Billy died of a stroke. Jake was devastated and ran away for a few months. Sam kept me posted on his approximate whereabouts, but I left him alone. When he came back, he went to a community college in Seattle to study Native American folklore. I went with him to a few classes but mostly hung out with Emily. Then, like we mentioned before, fifty years ago, Sam managed enough control to stop shifting into his wolf form. By then, Emily was pretty old, Sam didn't want to be left behind. Not long after that, Leah stopped too. The whole pack seemed to disperse. They all had trouble adapting to living normally. And they all died young.

An ancient grandfather clock chimed eight times in the corner of the room.

"Did we talk for that long?" I wondered aloud, pulling my hand away. Everyone looked very uncomfortable. I realized I was the only one breathing. Except Jake who was fast asleep. "I better get going."

Mom and Dad simultaneously stood up to show me out. We trailed down the staircase to the foyer. Jake hung limply over my shoulders like a wiped out child. Except how weird would it look if you saw a seventeen year old carrying a twenty five year old?

Dad leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Come visit soon," he said softly.

I nodded and turned to my mom. Her blackened eyes gazed at me tiredly. "Mom?" I asked worriedly.

"I was wondering," she murmured. Her voice was hesitant. "Could I come with you to La Push. Or Forks."

My jaw dropped. Edward sputtered. "Honey," he said with tiredly. "We can't go back. You know that. Not for a while."

"It's just for a short visit," Mom insisted flatly.

"To whom?" I asked.

"Charlie." Mom's voice was cold and stiff. She wanted to visit her own father's grave.

**[[A/N: How was this? Like it so far? Comments are appreciated. May or may not continue forward with this. Depends on if I get some feedback on directional issues.]]**


	2. Unexpected

**[[A/N: Twilight characters are Stephenie Meyer's. The plot, however, is completely mine.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: So last chapter…I don't really know if you guys liked it or not…but I'll continue a little further (for the one good soul who commented)]]**

**[[3****rd**** A/N: Just a note. This takes place…probably about two days after Chapter 1]]**

**--**

I made about making breakfast for Jake like always. Jake was out patrolling on his own and would be hungry when he returned. As I whistled tunelessly, I whisked a large bowl of five eggs, ham, and chopped bell peppers to be poured in a large pan.

_Ri!_

I glanced at the phone and set my eggs down quickly. I dashed over to the phone and picked up the line before the first chirp could finish.

"Hello?" I asked into the receiver. "This is Renesmee."

"Nessie," the voice murmured over the phone. It was Dad.

"Dad. What's wrong?" I asked worriedly. My father's tone was strained with worry and anxiety.

"It's Bella. She hasn't come home," Dad spoke slowly. My body froze. It wasn't hard to stop movement. I couldn't be infinitely still like my full-blood parents, but I was close to perfecting the art.

"Huh?" I could only say.

"She hasn't come home since you took her to Forks," Dad clarified. "It's been two days. I'm starting to worry."

I shook my head. "She said she would run back," I insisted. "That she didn't need me to pick her up." Not that I had really wanted to. I had only seen my grandfather's grave once, and it wasn't something I made a routine of.

"Well she hasn't come back," Dad repeated. From his voice, I gained that my father wasn't in the best mental condition of his life. Mom was his life.

"What about Alice?" I asked nervously.

"She can't get a fix on her," Dad muttered. I could hear a "I'll keep trying, Edward!" in the background.

"I'll go check the grave. She might still be there," I told Dad quickly, trying to put on a reassuring tone. "It's been a long time since she's been back."

Dad coughed needlessly over the phone. "You're right," he murmured, not to me or himself. "Call me when you come back, okay?"

"Yah, Dad," I said. "Bye." I hung up. My mind was relatively stationary (for a half-vampire, I mean). My large, brown eyes drifted over towards the bowl of eggs on the wooden table. Jake could make eggs by himself for today.

I scribbled a note to Jake about where I was going, put the bowl in the refrigerator under a heavy coat of Saran Wrap, and sped out the door.

--

Forks was by no means very far. My legs flew over the ground. I gracefully weaved between the thickly packed forest. I was pleased about my speed. On good days, I could easily beat Jake to the Canadian border and back. Probably genetic, courtesy of Edward, the fastest Cullen vampire.

It took me a minute to reach the outskirts of Forks, where the cemetery lay hidden in a small clearing. In fact, it was pretty close to where the Cullen house used to be. I had a lingering urge to go visit my old birthplace but decided against it. My job was to go see if Mom was still at the grave.

I was then face to face with the wrought iron gates that had a Victorian era delicacy. A large, bronze insignia of a soaring dove was placed onto the lamppost situated just behind the entrance.

I pushed open the gate easily. It swung open. Despite its ancient appearance, the people of Forks regularly visited and oiled the graveyard.

About twenty rows of ten gravestones filled the mossy ground. A single stone path was built down the center. None of the gravestones were very big, but each had little bouquets of daisies in front of them.

At the very back, where the newer graves were, was Charlie's. It was a small, marble cross. A gray, rain stained plaque hung around it.

_**Charlie Swan**_

_**Father, Grandfather, and Police Chief**_

_**His Soul Will Find Relief in Heaven and a Place in Forks' Memory**_

A tear trickled down my cheek. I remembered Grandpa so well. And I was the one who made the plaque.

_The sun was shining through several windows. How rare for Forks. Inside the funeral home, I stood in my best black clothes, hiding my glowing, white skin. _

"_I'm sorry for your loss, Miss. Renesmee. I know you loved Charlie," one Forks resident murmured to me. I nodded sadly, letting her know silently that I didn't want to be spoken to. _

_Yup. That was me. The great-granddaughter of the retired Forks police chief. I couldn't very well be the granddaughter. Luckily, Jenks had worked out a new identity as the daughter of the first Renesmee Cullen and a one-night stand. I just happened to inherit most of my genetics from my mother. _

_How should I tell Mom? That question kept buzzing in my ears. Aunt…I mean Alice knew. Thus, Dad knew. I called them yesterday, warning them to keep it a secret. I would tell Mom. _

_I fingered the metallic plate in my left hand. In the other, was a sharpened metal needle. No one was around to hear me. I pushed the needle onto the metal. _Scritch. Scratch.

"_What are you doing?" Jake hissed. He was suddenly beside me. No one in Forks really knew Jake, so he was safe. I envied him. _

"_Well it's not like he was a fan of fanciness? This is the simplest way of making Grandpa a plaque," I reasoned, not looking up from my work. The C and H of Charlie were almost done. _

"_It's not like the Cullens left you here with no money," Jake murmured, studying my handiwork. _

"_I know Grandpa would've liked something like this better," I noted, finishing up Charlie's name. _

"_You, Bella, and Charlie. All of you are so unmaterialistic, it amazes me sometimes," Jake said flatly. He was silent as he watched me scratch away at the plaque. _

"_Too bad the Cullens can't come," Jake whispered.  
_

"_Too many people would recognize them," I replied faintly. _

_Jake nodded. He and I had had just about enough of the nasty rumors about how horrible Bella was for not coming to her own father's funeral. When in fact, even if Mom knew about Grandpa's passing away, she couldn't come even if she wanted to. _

_I finished. The plaque hung, shimmering in the dim, Ikea lamps swinging from the ceilings. _

_--_

The gravesite was empty though. Mom was nowhere in site. I sighed. Why was I even here? Why couldn't Alice look for Mom?

I bent down on the mossy ground in front of Grandpa's cross. My nose twitched. The familiar smell of sunshine and lavender hung around the cross. Mom's scent_. She was just here,_ I reasoned. But by no means was I a tracker. Mom's scent was in the graveyard, but I knew it was futile for me to try to trace it outside.

Dejected at my failure, I turned to leave. A crunch. I stiffened. Somone was there. I could literally give myself a punch in the face for my stupidity. I was so lost in thought that I hadn't heard the coming approach of someone. Forks was still too familiar. If someone spotted me…oh man.

"Renesmee?" That was a familiar voice. I blinked once. Twice. At the gateway was an older woman. She was hidden in a tan trench coat. I could tell her skin was darker…the same color as Jake's almost. But that was impossible. At the gateway was Sue Clearwater.

"Sue?" I stuttered. "But…but it can't be."

"I should be saying the exact same thing," Sue snapped. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for my mom," I explained.... "But WAIT! You should be dead by now!"

Sue smiled. "I am clearly alive."

I shook my head. Even with my mind, I couldn't fathom an explanation for this. "Sue…you should be dead!" I exclaimed. The math was obvious. Sue would be over…a century years old if she was still alive. And before me was Sue Clearwater as I last remembered her, the day of Charlie's funeral.

**[[A/N: So? Sue Clearwater right? I know she was a minor character in the actual series, but I then told myself: this leaves more room for experimentation as well!]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Please review! I know there are other Twilight fanfics out there just calling you to do the same, but it would help me greatly. ]]**


	3. Truth

**[[A/N: Whee! Okay. Please keep reviewing. So far only 2 people have reviewed (and one has twice. Thx btw.)]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Yup. So I was pretty stumped on how to introduce Sue Clearwater and make it work. Still am actually. I don't tend to plan ahead in my stories, if you haven't noticed. Well anyway. Please enjoy.]]**

**[[3****rd**** A/N: I don't own any of the Twilight characters. I own the plotline so no stealing! RAWR!]]**

--

_Where we left off--_

"_Sue?" I stuttered. "But…but it can't be."_

"_I should be saying the exact same thing," Sue snapped. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Looking for my mom," I explained.... "But WAIT! You should be dead by now!"_

_Sue smiled. "I am clearly alive."_

--

I took a hesitant step forward towards Sue Clearwater, unsure if I should attack or flee. Which, granted was a pretty stupid thought. Sue was—IS my step-grandmother (how kinky does that sound?). Well I had to pick something, so I chose to approach slowly. I must've looked like a fool, taking one step at a time.

"How?" I whispered.

The clouds in the sky above the graveyard were growing steadily darker. I estimated in a back part of my brain that it would be about twenty minutes before it started pouring a thick, Washington monsoon.

Sue's face remained…how should I put it? Peaceful? The corners of her lips were curled up. Her eyes watched me warily, however. She looked great, actually. Sue's face, wrinkled with old age, was alive and alert. At Charlie's funeral, not only was her age affecting her body, but also Grandpa's death had taken a toll. Having two husbands in the funeral home can do that.

"_Sue," I whispered, rubbing my step-grandmother's back comfortingly. The widow was hunched over in a chair set in a secluded corner of the funeral home. Draped in a baggy, black dress, Sue looked a lot like a ghost. Her skin even had a gray tint to it. I felt her body stiffen under my fingertips. I sighed. After being related for several decades, you'd think she would grow a little more relaxed by me. _

_Sue tilted her head up and looked at me steadily. Her dark eyes penetrated my own. Framed by wrinkles and weathered skin, her gaze was unwavering. _

"_You look a lot like Bella," Sue muttered. "Too bad you aren't her." _

_I pulled away sharply. "What is that supposed to mean?" I demanded under my breath. "You know Mom can't be here."_

"_You haven't told her about Charlie, have you?" Sue asked quietly. I frowned. It didn't actually sound like a question though. Both of us looked away. I wanted to grab her and shake her violently. _

--

"Sue, where did you go?" I asked. Not long after the funeral was over, she had disappeared. Hank, the next Forks Police Chief suspected Sue of post-traumatic suicide.

Sue laughed, contrary to my wandering thoughts. "Everywhere! First was Canada. It was great, but I wanted somewhere a little more exotic. Mexico. Puerto Rico. Spain! Oh Spain was great. Cute, elderly men would do anything for a little night out with me (kinky…need I say?). Then England. Germany. Germany was kind of boring so I didn't stay there very long. Holland. Switzerland. Russia! Oh man. If I had to describe Rus—"

"SUE!" I interrupted, perturbed by my step-grandmother's ramblings. "Explain yourself! How are you still alive!"

Sue grinned sheepishly. "Why don't you guess first? I'll tell you if you're hot or cold."

I groaned. Since when did someone like Sue Clearwater have such a black sense of humor?

"Werewolf?" I shot. It would've explained a lot. Leah had been a werewolf. And I reasoned that this…change all happened after a huge emotional meltdown—Grandpa's death.

"Cold."

I sighed. "Shape-shifter."

"Cold."

I growled. My impatience was showing. "Vampire? Mermaid? Frickin Unicorn?" I cried. "Just tell me Sue." I approached even closer. Now I was just fifteen feet away from her. She smelled like rain and…something else. It was a sharp, pungent scent that made me cringe. But it was somehow alluring and nostalgic. Like I knew it from somewhere.

"You know," Sue began, smacking her lips together. She now took a step forward. "After Charlie's funeral, I was a wreck. I admit it." The rain began to mist down upon us. Part of me groaned in annoyance. I was only wearing a pair of La Push High School track pants and Hard Rock Café t-shirt.

Sue coughed. "I was a wreck. And I was going to kill myself." I froze. "I was debating about how I was going to offer myself. Well. I had a lot of options. Drowning. Slitting my wrists. Simply starving to death.

"The day before I was going to leap off the La Push cliffs, I was contacted by a mysterious man," Sue confessed. She began to pace up and down the first row of tombstones. "I went to this very graveyard, those many…many years ago, where he told me to meet him. At first, I saw no one. Then he appeared."

"Who?" I whispered. "Who contacted you?"

Sue shook her head. "Even now I don't know. But he was there. And he offered me a way to release my pain and suffering. Which of course I did." I stood there in shock and confusion. "I told him that I wanted in on whatever he was doing. He snapped his fingers like a mafia boss or someone from a Hollywood movie. And I woke up in my bed. It was magical."

I stood there stunned. "And so from that day forward, you've been unable to die? Like a werewolf?"

Sue giggled. It was weird seeing my step-grandmother giggle, especially since she was like…nearly two centuries old. Older than me at least. "More like a vampire, I must admit."

"How so?" I asked nervously. My muscles tensed. Something about Sue just made me feel jumpy.

Sue glanced to her left and right quickly, as if checking to make sure we were alone. We were. She bent towards me and put her hands around her lips. "I live forever, like a vampire and a werewolf, only feeling happiness and the warm half of my emotional spectrum," Sue whispered (this I had sort of figured out already). "But I don't get all this for free. Like you and your family, I have to live off others"

I hissed. "What do you mean?" I asked darkly. My instincts told me to attack or flee like hell. But I chose neither and stood my ground. I wanted to hear what Sue had to say.

Sue…I think the right word would be cackled. Her laughter was only matched by the now steady onslaught of water pouring down from the heavy, dark clouds. I was soaked to the bone, but I felt perfectly fine. My body temperature matched the rain evenly, making it feel like a lukewarm shower.

"Sue," I warned, taking a step closer.

"Not so fast, Renesmee. I was just about to tell you," Sue said quickly, a dazed look to her eyes. "I'm just fooling with you."

"What do you take from others?" I demanded, my copper curls sticking to the sides of my cheeks.

Sue spoke clearly, her tongue forming each syllable clearly. "Life."

I stopped breathing. "Life?" I repeated dully, trying not to process the importance.

"Yup," Sue said eagerly. She licked her lips hungrily and stared up at me. I could have sworn that I saw desire in her eyes. "Life from immortals." Desire for food.

"Impossible!" I declared, not willing to believe the truth. My eyes searched Sue's face for some sort of lying factor. A mouth twitch. A flicker of the eyes or a chin wrinkle! Nothing.

"Sure, I had to keep moving to find vampires, but it got easier to find them over the years. Despite the best of efforts, beautiful, glittering beings don't blend in very well. And shape-shifters aren't all that common outside the States," Sue said simply, as if what she did was common knowledge. "I happened to come back to La Push for nostalgic reasons and viola! The Cullens are back!"

I froze. Something in my head was trying to scream something at me. But I blocked it out. "You…you would kill your family?" I whispered, aghast.

The rain pounded around us now like drums. Sue's wrinkled face glowed with excitement. "I would. I would. I would've come to you, Renesmee. But now I have so much variety," Sue confessed, poking her fingers together innocently. "I mean, when your mom showed up, I just had to act. A personal vendetta from fifty years ago, hmmm? For Charlie's sake, of course."

My patience broke like a rubber band snapping. I felt my body leap forward at Sue before I even realized. I was an unstoppable bullet…or so I thought. With that same lunactic smile on her face, Sue stepped gracefully to the side, dodging my attack. I landed on all fours (so I had learned most of my fighting skills from a dog...screw me).

"Now, now, Renesmee. Respect your elders," Sue reprimanded, her face peaceful and relaxed. She didn't even seem phased by my anger or the torrent of rain.

"Where is Mom?" I rumbled. My fingernails dug into the squishy, verdant moss.

Sue smiled. It wasn't the same smile as before. It was saner than before. "Oh, wherever those go when they don't have a soul to depart with. She served her purpose well."

No. It couldn't be. _Mom! _I screamed in my head, despair clouding my vision a fiery red. I surged forward, at a speed close to my own father's. I only wanted one thing. Revenge.

**[[A/N: budum budum!!!! Do I hear a plot twist? I'm actually kind of interested in where this goes myself! Sue, don't tell me you're a life sucking immortal psychopath! And you killed Bella! Le Gasp! O_O! Stay tuned for more!]]**


	4. Edward's Interlude

**[[A/N: Okay. Last chapter was pretty heated, huh? I re-read it and kind of felt it was a little cheesy. But who am I to say? That's just how the story comes out. I'm not going to change one bit of last chapter. But it seems like the few readers of mine like it, so what the heck, right?!]]**

**[[3****rd**** A/N: I don't own any Twilight characters, but I own the plot. ENJOY!]]**

--

_Where we left off—_

"_Where is Mom?" I rumbled. My fingernails dug into the squishy, verdant moss. _

_Sue smiled. It wasn't the same smile as before. It was saner than before. "Oh, wherever those go when they don't have a soul to depart with. She served her purpose well." _

_No. It couldn't be. Mom! I screamed in my head, despair clouding my vision a fiery red. I surged forward, at a speed close to my own father's. I only wanted one thing. Revenge. _

_--_

Renesmee's POV:

Sue laughed lightly at my attack. She stepped to the side again to dodge, but I was ready for that. My body made a graceful arc to the ground. My hands hit the mushy moss first. I spun my wrists towards Sue, pivoting the rest of my body in mid air. My legs fell to the ground, kicking me off again towards my step-grandmother.

"SUE!" I yelled, my anger welling up inside my chest.

"Haha, Renesmee. You're pretty fast. But you can't beat me," Sue taunted, skittering out of my way as I continued to pounce after her.

My eyes flashed. I pushed off hard into the ground, my heels making thick indents in the soft soil. I would get my revenge. I would get my revenge. Revenge. My mind was empty aside from that single thought. Revenge.

--

Edwards POV:

I paced nervously in front of the kitchen table, trying to assure myself of Renesmee's disappearance.

"Alice, are you still blind?" I demanded, my voice lowering into a feral hiss.

My clairvoyant sister shook her head slowly. Her eyes were closed as she tried to shift through the incoming futures. There was going to be a storm in a few days. A possible visit from the realtor of our new home. Job opportunities for Carlisle. They all were crystal sharp, like watching flashes of the future through a clear pool. But whenever Alice shifted her focus on Bella's future, the images dulled to moving gray silhouettes. The pool was stained, in other words.

"I'm sorry, Edward," Alice apologized, her own face twisted with fear. "I tried."

I growled angrily. I knew that if either Bella or Nessie saw my reaction to Alice's failure, they would both reprimand my behavior.

"Hey, relax bro," Emmett said, striding into the room from the balcony. "It's not Alice's fault." Great, so he was taking my wife and daughter's spot.

I groaned and went over to the kitchen. The countertops were bare of any food. So was the built in refrigerator. "I just…am anxious. I don't have a good feeling about this," I confessed.

"Me too," Alice added.

There was an awkward silence between us. Emmett moved to sit on a couch. His mind was unusually quiet.

My eyes looked out the kitchen window. Off to the horizon somewhere was the Forks graveyard. I could only hope Renesmee would find Bella.

**[[A/N: Sorry about the shortness. I was having some writers block and an overall bad day. School starts soon.]]**


	5. Doubtful Revelations

**[[A/N: Thanks to everyone for the positive comments on the previous chapters!! ]]**

**[[2nd A/N: I don't own any of the Twilight characters. I do own the plot! YAY! I OWN SOMETHING!]]  
**

**--**

Renesmee's POV:

I felt as if someone was suffocating me with a blanket. My limbs were dead weights around me, as was my head. My mind was a dull as my body, unable to think very far.

My eyes tingled, as if someone was tickling the corners. I wanted to reach up and rub them, but my arms were tied. I wriggled hard, trying to destroy the itch. The itch became a burn…a burn that I soon realized was comparable to that of a vampire venom mark. If not for my tearing eyes, I would have noted earlier the strange growing…what I could describe as an absence of light.

"Nessie," the light whispered. The words floated gently around, encompassing my mind.

I was speechless, which I would have to say was unusual for me.

"Nessie, I need to ask you something," it continued.

I blinked. "What?" I managed to blurt.

"Tell him, I will always love him. Tell him that. And tell him to keep his soul, the one that he knows he has. I don't want to see him in Heaven anytime soon."

I was completely puzzled by the mysterious voice but at the same time, intrigued. At the time, I drew a blank about who was speaking.

"Tell who? Who are you?" I ask desperately. I feel the darkness enveloping my body again, and I struggle against it. I feel a sudden attachment to the urge.

"I'll say hello for you to your grandpa," the voice says softly, caressing my face invisibly, a last parting gesture.

"Mom?" I shout, suddenly realizing who the light was. But I can hear the tinge of echo in the reverberations of my voice. The darkness is complete around me. "MOM!"

--

"Nessie! Nessie, wake up!"

I groan, rubbing my head. I don't really think about how I can suddenly move my arms. Pushing myself up, I realized how disoriented I felt. "Whoa…," I grumble. "Head rush."

"Nessie, are you alright?" the voice pressed. I felt a soft touch on my shoulder. I looked to whoever was pushing me and saw…Jake?

"Jake?" I said aloud, unsure if I was really seeing my boyfriend.

"Yah, I'm pretty sure that's my name," Jake drawled sarcastically, helping me to my feet. I staggered a little as I looked around. I saw the wrought iron gates of the Forks graveyard. _How the hell did I get outside? Better yet…where is Sue?  
_

My mind still a swirly bowl of egg yolk, I glanced at the digital watch ticking on my wrist. "4:28 p.m.," I read aloud. "Damn, I was out a long time."

Jake snorted. "Yah about that. Why don't you tell me what the hell you were doing here? Not even telling me in person!"

My eyebrows scrunched together into a line. "Just here to visit Grandpa." Where the hell was Sue? I couldn't remember what happened in the fight. I hoped it was a fight and not me getting my ass kicked.

"Charlie?" Jake asked skeptically. We both began to walk off towards La Push. As I couldn't speak to him in his wolf form, we walked at a rather sluggish, human pace. "You haven't visited his grave in nearly half a century."

My cheeks burned crimson. "Jacob Black, I can visit my Grandpa anytime I want," I snapped, annoyed at his interrogation. Sure, I wasn't telling him the truth, so his doubtfulness wasn't too far off, but I still didn't like the idea of our relationship being so one-sided.

Aware that the conversation seemed to be pretty much over, Jake started off towards the forest. I followed quickly, feeling the wavering air of his shape shifting.

With his clothes tied to his ankle tightly, Jake sprinted off towards La Push, setting our pace. I followed silently, soaring between the trees like a gazelle.

During that silent period, I began to shift my priorities. I knew the top. Mom. I was thankful Jake was in front because tears began to roll down my cheeks (Why did I have to inherit this part of being a human??). Mom was dead. Her scent wasn't anywhere other than Charlie's grave. And I was sure that the voice in the darkness was Mom. It all made sense if it was her.

I coughed hoarsely, wiping all traces of moisture from my face. Of course Jake would have to know eventually. Even though he had eventually imprinted on me, I knew his affection for Mom was still present, even if they were just friends now.

I reached the house a minute later. Jake had split up to run a quick patrol. Good. I needed some alone time. I dug my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the front door. My body tingled as the smell of cinnamon and Jake's cologne flooded onto the porch. I strode in, shutting the door sharply. Tossing my keys in a woven, wicker basket on the foyer table, I dashed over to the phone.

I thought I had it all planned out in my head. The whole conversation with Dad…WRONG!

The phone didn't even ring once. Considering that Dad's house was pretty big and there was only one landline, I guessed Dad had been anxiously awaiting my call.

"Yes?" was his greeting.

"Dad," I mumbled into the phone.

I could imagine his face over the phone. No…I didn't want to imagine it. He knew that I had failed in finding Mom.

"Dad, I'm so sorry," I said, trying to hold the tone in my voice. But at the last second, it broke. I choked back a sob, setting the phone's receiver on my shoulder. As the phase of sadness faded, I put the phone back to my ear.

He garbled something like I tried my best, but he sounded worse than I did. I didn't need to imagine his face. I knew what it was.

--

**[[A/N: Sorry for the interruption. Just a note. If you like the following flashback, you can read my oneshot In the Dark. Basically, it's the same thing, but from Nessie's POV in the womb. Bella's heart reference is from there.]]**

_Daddy takes me up to see Mama for the first time! I am so excited! It has only been half a day since she is becoming a vampire (supposedly, a vampire drinks blood and humans eat food. But what am I really?). _

_She is very pretty. Even in the middle of sleeping, her face is much different from what I remember. There is a stony shine just beginning to show. She actually looks a lot like Aunt Rose now…_

_I hear her thudding heart. It races very fast. Much faster than mine. That is the heart that kept me company! I frown a little as Daddy leads me up to Mommy. He says that when I can't hear the pounding anymore, Mommy will wake up. I feel a bit saddened because it means I will lose the one friend I had in the dark. _

_There is a sudden fluctuation in the rhythm. Mommy stiffens and groans within her throat. Daddy tenses and clutches me tighter, like I'm his protection charm. His face twists into such a scary face. I've never seen him look like this. Not even when he found out Jake had… imprinted (I think that is the right word) on me. It isn't angry, but really sad. His eyes burn with something…I heard it before. Guilt. Guilt! Yah! And sadness. A lot of sadness. It makes his pretty face look very different. I imagine that if stone could wrinkle, his face would look a lot like that. _

_I touch Daddy's face and show him a picture of what I think Mommy looks like alive and smiling. Is she okay? I show him a picture of what I think she would look like hugging him and me. Will we be a family soon?  
_

_Daddy laughs gently, touching my cheek softly. "Of course, Renesmee. She'll be fine. She'll wake up really soon. And when she does, we can be a family."_

--

Nevermind. Dad's face from then is probably not even close to what it is right now. My cheeks are wet again, but at least I have enough composure (or feigned stability) to keep my voice straight. I had to at least report what happened.

"Dad, I got to the graveyard. Her scent was by Grandpa's tombstone, but I couldn't trace it," I began, sniffing.

There was silence on the end of the line. I checked the call status on the phone's screen. Dad hadn't hung up, so I continued. "I was about to leave, but then you'll never guess who I ran into."

Dad wasn't about to take the bait. I wasn't sure if he would be able to handle this. Not well, was my guess.

"Sue Clearwater," I murmured. "She is alive."

There was quite a lengthy silence, but I wouldn't break it. Dad needed to know this. Then, there was a shuffle and a rapid uttering of words that was so fast, I couldn't pick it up.

"Nessie? You there?" That was Carlisle's voice.

"Carlisle," I spoke slowly. "Where's Dad?"

Carlisle grunted nervously on the other side. "He left."

"Left," I repeated. Then my nerve kicked in. "Well where the hell did he go?"

"I'm not sure, Nessie," Carlisle confessed. "But what did you tell him? He looked—"

I didn't want to hear the rest. "Carlisle," I interrupted. "Mom is dead."

Now there was another silence, although it was shorter than when I was talking to Dad.

"No," Carlisle insisted. "Impossible."

"Sue Clearwater is alive," I exclaimed. "She is alive and killed Mom!"

"Nessie, that is impossible. Sue is—was human," Carlisle argued, his voice tensing. "And even is she was a vampire or shapeshifter or something, there is no way she could kill Bella now. Your mother hasn't spent the last century sitting around."

I shook my head, letting Carlisle's words sink in. They didn't. I couldn't believe them. "I swear, Carlisle," I cried. "Sue is alive! I fought her! She said she made a deal with this man after Grandpa's death. In exchange for all of her negative emotions, Sue now lives off the energy of immortals! And now she's taken out Mom!"

"Nessie, do you hear yourself?" Carlisle demanded. I've honestly never heard him so angry. He's always been the cool, calm, and collected one to break up all of his adopted children's fights. "What you are saying is ridiculous."

"Carlisle, I'm serious!" I shouted, all composure lost. "She is dead. Dead! DEAD! And now Daddy knows the truth!"

"He _thinks_ he knows the truth," Carlisle corrected. He briefly leaned away from the receiver. "Jasper! Get everyone and find Edward!"

"You have to save Daddy!" I cried. I assumed the worst. Mom had told me of the adventures following her 18th birthday party.

"_Your father loves to dramatize everything. That's why he had to go to Volterra," Mom confessed, a wispy smile touching her lips. "I swear that he puts himself in as much danger as I do sometimes."_

"Carlisle, for the sake of everything. Just pretend I'm telling the truth," I urged, finding myself in a desperate position. "Imagine a being that can beat a vampire over a century old and a half-vampire equally old. A being that has the personality of a sick, twisted little child. That is what Sue has become."

"Is there proof?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know," I snapped. "I mean, she told me that she had killed a lot before over in Europe."

"If that had happened, I would think the Volturi would've sent warning Guards out to us," Carlisle reasoned.

I groaned. "Not if she makes her kills disappear. Mom's scent was only in the graveyard. Nowhere else. I couldn't trace it out. And her body is gone! Alice can't even find it!"

Carlisle shifted the phone to his other hand. "You make a reasonable argument….look. Esme is signaling that they've tracked Edward. He is heading towards the Sound. Can we meet there. I need to hear this in person." What I inferred is that he needed me to replay my memories to him.

"Why the Sound?" I asked.

"You remember Demetri, right? Well they aren't exactly best of friends," Carlisle explained.

"Demetri lives here now?" I inferred suspiciously.

"There have been a few rogue Canadian vampires in the area north of here. He is just cleaning them up to save the Volturi some time," Carlisle said.

The puzzle pieces suddenly fit. The cobwebs still clogging my head disappeared, leaving the clearest picture possible. It wasn't pretty. "Edward is going to perform a version of what he did after Mom's birthday! He is going to ask Demetri to kill him!"

**[[A/N: And with that, we end this chapter. It was longer than I planned, but after the last chapter (an example of writers block + teenage depression), I think this makes it up. Next chapter will probably be Edward-angst heavy.]]**


	6. Her Voice

**[[A/N: I had a really hard time trying to match the suspense and plot depth of the last chapter. First, I had it in Nessie's POV as she was tracking Edward. But that seemed really suckish. So this is my rename.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Okay so again…I don't own any of the characters. I own the plot.]]**

**--**

Edward's POV:

I have a set destination in my head this time It won't be anything like Volterra.

"_Edward, you really do overreact too much."_

I smile. "Yah, I know, Bella. But you love me right?"

"_Of course I do. I will always love you. We will be together forever."_

"Eternity sounds so long," I mumble, speeding the stolen Mercedes into the 100 mph zone. "Without you."

"_It won't be. You have everyone." _

"But none of them are you, Bella."

"_Maybe you will find someone else. Someone better for you than I was."_

"How can you say that?" I demand, flicking on the button to filter outside air into the car. I sniff deeply. Among the faint traces of pine was a sharp, electric tingle. A vampiric scent.

"_Because I'm your wife. Honestly, Edward. Do yourself a favor and be rational."_

"I am," I growl.

"_You've always been one to do things your way. Now look at you. Tracking down Demetri! Really, Edward, Really?"_

"I never knew you as the logical thinker, Bella." I turn left onto an overpass. Several drivers I pass all give me a quizzical and disgusted glare. I don't care.

"_I'm a lot of things, Edward, but I'm not stupid. Nessie needs a father that is always there."_

"I have to do this, Bella," I insist through clenched teeth. My knuckles are white against the steering wheel. I still don't know where exactly I'm going. Good. Alice won't be able to fully track me.

"_What about everyone else? Everyone loves you, Edward."_ I can hear a soft, amused giggle. _"Including Jacob. He loves this family."_

"He loves you and Renesmee," I correct, opening the windows. A strong breeze blasts into the car, tossing my hair into a tangled mess.

"_Ridiculous." _I wonder if she means my hair or my remark. _"Jacob thinks of you as a father just as much as Nessie. He loves you."_

"Didn't seem that way," I retort, exiting the freeway. The sharp, identifiable scent is strong now. Not very far away.

"_You are making a mistake."_

"Like I care," I snap. I park the car behind some shrubs. The area is desolate, a pathless part of the Washington countryside. Why would Demetri be here?

"_He isn't here."_

I growl. "What? I made a mistake? Impossible."

I hear another chuckle followed by a long, drawn-out sigh of relief. _"If anything, I've learned you aren't infallible, Edward. Especially when tracking."_

"This—"I sputter, too angry to do anything. I sniff the air. I know that Demetri has been here, but it was a trap. He retraced his steps back far enough and diverged where I wouldn't notice…exactly how Victoria did it.

"_Be a good sport, Edward. Will you please calm down and go home now?"_

"You wish, Bella. But no. I'm going to see this through," I snap, getting back into the car. My hand twists the keys too violently; I feel the metal base crunch in my fingers.

"_I hope you know that you are making a stupid, avoidable mistake."_

"How is seeing you a mistake?" I demand, making a steep u-turn. The windows and sunroof are wide open.

"_I just don't want you to go into this blind, figuratively I mean."_

The trail is stronger. I can see where I went wrong. I mentally slap myself for not seeing my mistake earlier.

"Demetri," I growl. "He…Bastard."

"_Watch your mouth, Edward. You aren't helping your temper."_

"You aren't here," I accuse the voice, my voice strangled with sadness. The reality of my overactive conscious is suddenly too hard to ignore. "You are Bella, but you aren't. She is gone forever! And I've made this sick, realistic version of you in my mind. If you were Bella, then you would understand why I'm doing this. Why I am like this."

"_I understand you completely. But we both are different from what happened on my 18__th__ birthday. We both have other responsibilities. Especially to our daughter. You remember Nessie right? "_

I ignore her. I focus hard, blocking out Bella's voice. Gone. She is gone…I choke on invisible tears. Demetri's scent is stronger than ever. I am almost there. I am going to see Bella soon.

**[[A/N: Did you enjoy this part from the slightly disturbed POV of Edward Craz—I mean Cullen. Bella's voice is basically Edward's conscious – a mirror of what happened to Bella in New Moon. Rate please!]]**


	7. Confrontation

**[[A/N: SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY! I had a lot of schoolwork to do and was way to tired to finish anything. Keep commenting! Every part counts. I am still unsure about how to end. But anyway, hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter. If you have any ideas on how you want the story to flow, just tell me in the comments.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: I don't own the Twilight characters. I own the plot. It's 100% Kame. P: ]]**

--

Renesmee's POV:

I was thoroughly frustrated by the time Alice called me with the new set of directions.

"He did what?" I demanded over the roaring wind. I wobbled unsteadily as I balanced Jake's speeding motorcycle. 

"Apparently he is heading the opposite direction. He realized he traced a false clue," Alice explained, her voice slow as she let her visions carry her away.

I hissed in anger, something that was totally uncharacteristic of me. I don't hiss unless I'm…well…pissed, forgive the unintentional rhyme. "Where is he going now?" I paused. "And why don't you track Demitri! It would be waaaay easier."

Alice laughed sharply. "I would, but I barely know Demetri. My visions of him are cloudy. I'm not omniscient, Nessie." She sighed over the phone. "He appears to be near water." That was just great. We live in one of the wettest areas of the continental United States.

"More specifically," I pressed, swerving around a particularly slow farm truck.

Alice was silent. I could hear Jasper and Emmett speaking rapidly in the background, but I couldn't understand it. Finally, I heard my pixie aunt's voice. "He's back in Forks."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" I exclaimed. "Forks? Do you see Demetri with him?"

"Yes."

My stomach dropped to my feet. I gritted my diamond hard teeth together. "No way," I grumbled. "Is Edward stupid? Forks? If too many vampires center in Forks for too long, then there will be another outbreak of werewolves."

Alice clucked her tongue in confusion. "That will only happen if there are too many for an extended period of time. Besides, I don't see how that is such a bad thing," she noted.

I frowned. I had forgotten that none of my family had already actually lived with a live werewolf who had been trying to eradicate the shapeshifting line indefinitely. "It isn't a burden I want anyone else to bear," Jake had once told me.

"Oh nevermind," I huffed, speeding down the lone, secluded highway that trailed through the wet, green pines towards Forks. "How far ahead is he?"

"Too far. Within a minute of fast running at his speed," Alice reported, her voice strained.

"Could I catch him if I run?" I ask breathlessly. My speed was pretty impressive actually.

"No." Alice seemed pretty adamant about that. My dignity seemed to falter a little from this. Being Edward's daughter, I had a pretty good talent for sprinting. I could beat Jake if I to the border if I pushed hard. Feeling my grimace over the phone, Alice chuckled. "Edward's speed has increased exponentially with age. You don't have a chance."

I sighed. I couldn't really hold any sort of negative feelings towards Alice for very long. She was Alice of course.

--

"You'll find him and Demetri by our house," Alice had told me before hanging up. She and the rest of the Cullens wouldn't be able to get here on time.

I felt an eerie sense of second person déjà vu. I sped through the green lights, my engine roaring like a tiger. Mrs. Newton (yes that would be the Mike Newton's granddaughter) stared at me in awe as I passed by the outdoor equipment store. Luckily, my tinted helmet kept her from knowing I was actually her grandfather's ex-crush's daughter (that was a mouthful).

I sped through the small town and down the stretched out Cullen driveway. Aside from a few overgrown hedges, it was relatively well maintained. The air was stiff and charged with the scent of vampires. One familiar. One distant.

"Damn." My teeth clenched together as I drew up to the house. It was just as I had remembered it. When was the last time I had been here? Not since moving in with Jake after everyone left for the east.

I paused, my ears trying to hear something that would give me a clue to where my father and Demetri was.

"I don't see why I should do any favor for you, Edward."

I jolted to a stop. They were to the north. I sprinted off, literally jumping over the house and into the backyard. My feet hardly touched the ground. I felt their presences looming closer and closer. Suddenly, I hit a tall hill rising up among the trees. I paused. Just above on the peak were Demetri and Dad.

They seemed not to notice me, and I hoped that Dad was too busy reading Demetri's mind to pay attention to my thoughts.

"You wouldn't give up this opportunity." I shuddered at how scratchy and desperate Dad sounded. "To kill a Cullen."

"But I'm not going to do you a favor," Demetri retorted, his voice icy cold. "Not after that incident in New York twenty years ago." I frowned. I tried to quiet my thoughts. Dad seemed pretty occupied, but I didn't want to take the risk of him blowing my cover.

"Learned your lesson?" Dad asked casually, but he was obviously taunting the Volturi tracker.

"I got shot at while trying to save your wife's ass. What do you think? It was your fault for letting her go in public so soon," Demetri growled.

"She has perfect self control," Dad snarled. I noticed how he used the present tense…weird. And anyway, we can't die though, so there really was no fault." There was a sharp laugh. I didn't know who it was.

"If one of those bullets had hit any of our skin, the existence of beings other than humans would've been revealed," Demetri retorted. Being part of the Volturi meant he was also a strict rule abider. "And I would've had to kill everyone around." His voice sliced through the air.

"Obviously your are still angry at me. Then go on." Dad's voice was definitely sugar coated; persuasion practically dripped out of his mouth. "Kill me."

I couldn't stand it any longer. "DAD!" I shouted, leaping up onto the hillcrest. The two vampires seemed honestly shocked to see me. I frowned. Were they really that oblivious to me?

"Is this your precious daughter?" Demetri asked incredulously, eyeing me up and down. I stood stone still in between them, giving them both an angry glare. "I had heard the story…she does look a lot like you, Edward. You and your wife. Quite a nice gene pool."

Edward stiffened, leaning forward with clenched hands. "You're an ass." His black eyes were dangerous and cruel. I repressed an urge to shudder.

The tracker raised his hands in innocence, but his face was clearly smug. "Don't worry, _Eddie_. I was just joking." _Have I ever actually heard my father called anything but 'Edward' before? I wonder why. _

"It's not my name, that's why," Edward answered me, no emotion trailing his words.

"Right. Right. I forgot." Demetri paused. He looked at me, then to Edward, then back to me.

"No," Edward whispered. "NO!"

My brow wrinkled in confusion. I hated when Dad did this. "What?" I demanded.

"You wanted death, Edward. I am giving you _your _request," Demetri rationalized, stepping forward.

At the same time, Edward lunged out and grabbed me by the shoulder. He yanked back, pulling me with him. I didn't even blink, feeling my body swerve and land in a pile of leaves.

"What the—" I cussed, standing up. Leaves clung to my curly, bronze tangles. I sighed: if Alice saw me like this, she would have a cow. And then throw it at me. Edward stood in front of me in a protective crouch.

"Dad?" I murmured, reaching out my hand tentatively but pulling it back.

"Your vindictive and heartless. You want to kill me now just because Nessie is here," Dad spat.

"Now, Edward, we can't all be perfect angels. I would've eventually killed you. Your daughter showing up just happens to be a little bonus for me."

"Try it and you will die."

"I'd like to see you try, _Eddie_." Demetri flashed a smile that chilled my heart. His teeth were glinting shark teeth, perfectly…demonizing…his unnaturally malevolent features. I felt a pang in my heart. But aside from how creepy Demetri looked, I could only really feel the relief that Dad didn't seem to be so suicidal anymore.

"Because you are here," Dad mumbled, responding to my buried thoughts.

I stood up to my full height now, brushing out any leaves that remained my tossled locks. "Dad, come back with me," I pleaded. "Let's go home."

I was certainly expecting Dad to agree and suddenly break down apologizing to me about how stupid he had been. But he _shook_ his head.

"I can't," Dad turning towards me. "All I can really is put you out of the misery of seeing me like this…half-crazed monster." I froze.

"_He hated me." Mom murmured, tucking my ten-year old body under the covers (I was actually really only about…a year old). _

"_I did not," Dad replied calmly. "I simply thought that one so beautiful shouldn't be with a monster like me."_

"_You kept saying that," Bella said. She flew across the room and kissed his cheek quickly before returning to me. "I never believed him one bit." I giggled, holding onto my mom's hand tightly before drifting off into a deep sleep. My mood was calm and fuzzy – life was eternally wonderful it seemed._

"Dad, you aren't a monster," I spoke, my voice soft and desperate.

"I'm a monster for letting your mother die and for letting you get into my mess and for actually letting this ass of a tracker toy with me," Edward said. Demetri snorted.

"Dad—" I began to protest again. _Woomph._ Darkness came swiftly. Alice was absolutely right. Dad had become freakishly fast.

--

I woke up with a lousy headache. I tentatively reached my hand up to my forehead. The skin felt a little tight, but otherwise, I hadn't sustained other damage.

"Are you awake yet, Nessie?"

I startled into awareness. That's when I realized I wasn't in the forest anymore but in the Forks Cullen mansion. My body had been laid gently on the leather living room couch with a pillow tucked underneath my head.

Alice sat across from me, practically eaten up by the enormous white leather bean bag she was sitting on.

"Aunt—I mean Alice," I corrected quickly. I paused, letting the memories swirl around in my head and reorganize themselves. "Where is Dad?

"Gone. He was gone when we reached you. Long gone," Alice reported sadly. I heard thumping upstairs.

"Alice, is Nessie awake?" Jasper asked from the top of the stairs.

"Yah," Alice replied, her golden eyes not leaving mine.

I heard a whoosh of air followed by a squeak of leather. I glanced at the edge of my feet, seeing my scarred, blonde uncle sitting there. I hadn't actually talked to him since he got back. It was great to see him.

"Uncle Jasper," I greeted, leaning over and hugging him firmly. I smiled. He seemed healthier and unusually stable. I hoped that his vegetarian diet had improved. Jasper didn't say anything in return, but I felt a warm wave of affection and calm wash over me instead.

"So, in the topic of finding Edward," Alice broke in, anxious to find her brother.

"You say he was gone when you got to me?" I asked, settling myself against the backrest of the couch.

"Yah. He must've been in a hurry because there was hardly a scent left to track," Jasper said.

I frowned. "He seemed so much better when I got to him though. Not so dead set on dying—no pun intended."

Alice chuckled. "Well that's Edward for you."

I nodded. For a moment, the three of us sat in silence. I could hear Rosalie talking rapidly, to Carlisle and Esme I guessed, upstairs.

Then I remembered. "What about Demetri?" I demanded.

"What about him?" Alice asked tranquilly. She didn't seem at all nervous or worried that a Volturi tracker was also missing and had some sort of vendetta against the Cullens.

"Well do you know where he went?" I pressed irritably.

"What do you mean 'went'?" a voice asked smoothly.

I gasped and turned spun in my seat. Demetri leaned against the stair banister, a relaxed grin on his face. "I'm right here."

**[[A/N: The chapter is extra long – my apology gift for taking so long with the new chapter. Is Demetri on the Cullen's side now? I bet one of you is wondering why I was put Demetri in too. I'm a fan of the small characters :]. Find out more in the next issue of *****dramatic drum roll***** RETURN HOME! KLIK THE GREENE BUTON!]]**


	8. Too Late

**[[A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been sick this entire week with the swine flu and just got better. Nasty bugger has been going around my entire school. :P]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Enjoy! I'll try to make this chapter as entertaining as the last. KEEP COMMENTING!]]**

**[[3****rd**** A/N: I don't own any of the Twilight characters. I own the plot.]]**

--

_Last Chapter:_

_Then I remembered. "What about Demetri?" I demanded. _

"_What about him?" Alice asked tranquilly. She didn't seem at all nervous or worried that a Volturi tracker was also missing and had some sort of vendetta against the Cullens._

"_Well do you know where he went?" I pressed irritably. _

"_What do you mean 'went'?" a voice asked smoothly. _

_I gasped and turned spun in my seat. Demetri leaned against the stair banister, a relaxed grin on his face. "I'm right here."_

--

"He-he-he!" I sputtered. "What the hell?" Jasper's eyebrows wrinkled slightly and I felt a wave of serenity sweep through me.

"Relax, Nessie," Alice said. "Demetri is allowed to be here."

That seemed rather unlikely. "Why?" I hissed. "He tried to kill Dad."

"Only because the poor sap asked me to," Demetri reasoned.

"And at what point did you decide to help us _save_ him?" I demanded.

Demetri laughed coldly. "Your father is famous among the Volturi for being a pain in the ass." He shook his head exasperatedly. "If he gets too emotional, he is a threat to us."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Just think about it, Nessie," Jasper reasoned. "Demetri is a Volturi. Edward is a threat to vampire society in his state. He could very well be exposing us at this exact moment."

My lips pursed. "What about your Canadian vampires?" I demanded.

Demetri's face darkened suddenly. "They're taken care of."

I frowned. I didn't trust Demetri one bit, but what could I do. I had to admit that the fastest way to find Dad was through Demetri.

There was another rustle of air. Rosalie and Emmett had come down from upstairs. My aunt's eyes were dark gold but were already weary with exhaustion.

"Carlisle and Esme won't be here for a while. They have business with someone over on the reservation," Rosalie reported.

Alice nodded. "We'll have to go ahead without them."

"So, Demetri," Emmett began. We all looked at Emmett, thinking the exact same thing. "How about you get to tracking my brother?" I (and I think every Cullen in the room) breathed a sigh of relief. We all thought he was going to ask Demetri to some juvenile arm wrestling game or something.

Demetri smiled. "I already have."

"Already?" Rosalie asked in disbelief. "But you've been talking to us the entire time."

"Hello. I am the best tracker in the world," Demetri exclaimed, tapping his chest. "I don't need prep time." He stood up. "We can find him heading towards Oregon."

"That's vague," I said snidely.

"Well it's better than how you found him. Relying on Ms. Precog over there," Demetri retorted.

Alice pouted. "I do my best with what I have."

"Enough chattering," Jasper interrupted. He got off the couch and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a key. "Who's riding what?"

"Driving!" Emmett called. He grabbed the key and sped out to the garage.

"Shotgun!" Rosalie called. She followed.

I groaned. I saw the math. "How are four of us fitting into two seats?" I demanded. I had no plans on being seat buddies with Demetri in a cramped Jeep.

"Just me actually," Jasper confessed. "Alice is taking you and Demetri with her in the Porsche."

Alice looked sharply at Jasper. "Really?" she asked. Her eyes searched her husband's desperately. A longing tugged at her face, urging her to protest. But the Porsche was faster…

"Be safe," Jasper whispered before running out to join the others in the Jeep.

Alice sighed. Without a word, she motioned for us to follow her out the front door to the driveway. The yellow Porsche sat there waiting for us, a key in the ignition.

"Oh I've missed you!" Alice crooned. I remembered that they couldn't bring all of their cars across the country when they moved. "You look brand new."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Demetri eye the shotgun door. "No way," I whispered, racing forward to grab the handle. He must've seen my movements as well because he moved at the exact same time.

"Shotgun!" I growled, grabbing the handle a split second before him. "Sorry Demetri. Bad luck for you."

The tracker smiled thinly, retracting his half stretched hand back into his coat pocket. "You _are_ Edward's daughter." I smiled sweetly.

--

The car was tinted so darkly on the inside, it was hard to believe that we were hurtling through the hills of south Washington.

"Why is Edward down here?" I asked, fingering my new trench coat (from Alice of course).

"Maybe there is some festival again. Like what happened in Volterra," Demetri proposed from the backseat. He was sprawled out across the three seats, resting his feet on the windowsill. I knew Alice was barely containing her frustration with his lack of respect for her 'baby'.

"Doesn't seem that way," Alice said quietly. "I think he is after something…but just what. He doesn't seem to know either."

There was silence for a moment. "Take the turnoff here," Demetri said suddenly.

"Why? Is he off the freeway?" Alice asked, putting on the blinker.

Demetri chuckled. "No, but I'm thirsty." Alice and I knew the implications. It didn't mean stopping by a 7-11 for a Big Gulp.

"You can drink later. _After_ you find Dad," I snapped, extremely irritated

"Look, your Daddy is taking a break," Demetri said casually. "He isn't moving and we aren't going that far off course. Tell your buddies just to keep heading down the freeway. I won't take long."

Alice groaned, but took the freeway exit. I could hardly believe we were halting our search for a…snack, but Alice seemed to think it was the best course of action. We pulled into a diner parking lot.

"Make it quick," Alice ordered, pulling out her cell phone. Instead of typing in Rosalie's number, she slid open the bottom half to reveal of set of texting keys. I snickered. My aunt was a text nut.

Demetri was already back by the time we had finished gassing up the car across the street. His face was a little flushed from the blood he had just had.

"Did you enjoy your break?" I asked sullenly, sliding back into the passenger seat.

Demetri chuckled. "Extremely." We jerked out of the parking lot and back onto the freeway, easily dodging the other cars at 100mph.

After another fifteen minutes, Demetri suddenly sat up. "Take the exit here." Alice did so, merging across five lanes in one second. "He's here. Right here."

I looked out the window. "_Right_ here?"

Demetri nodded, his face twitching. "I can feel it. The pull is strong. He is here."

Alice pulled out her phone and this time called Rosalie. We had passed them a couple minutes back. She spoke rapidly into the receiver. "Yes? Really? Oh. Bye, Rose." She hung up, her knuckles clutching the phone tightly. "Just our luck. They're stuck in a traffic jam." The car jerked to a halt in front of a Comfort Inn. Across the street was a tiny diner, but that was about it on this side of the freeway.

I got out quickly, sniffing the air. Edward had been here recently, but I just didn't know where. The sun shone brilliantly above me, peaking in through large gaps in the clouds. Alice and Demetri stayed inside, their eyes darting around in the car.

"Well?" Alice asked, craning her head to look up at me.

"He's here somewhere."

Demetri snarled. "We're too late." He pointed across the road.

_Dad! _I shouted. He didn't see us. I doubt he was paying attention to anything. Why? Because his shirt was off and his bare chest was glistening like crystallized marble in the sun.

"NO!" I screamed. "We're too late!" Inside, Demetri squirmed, anxious to finally get Edward Cullen for this crime.

Alice shook her head. "Not possible!" she whispered. "I didn't get a single vision that he was going to do this. I would've seen it!"

I didn't hear anything else. I knew Demetri would also have my ass for this, but I couldn't care less. I sped across the street in one blink, pushing Dad onto the ground between a parked Toyota minivan and a Honda Civic.

"Nessie," Dad growled, heaving me off him. "What are you doing?"

"You are such an idiot!" I shouted. I began to undo the buttons of my trench coat. I would've yanked the buttons out but I knew Alice and I also valued my life….unlike my suicidal father. Finally the coat was unbuttoned. I shed it and tossed it over Dad's chest.

"Get off," Dad snapped, pushing me backwards. Luckily I had braced myself because his shove had some force. I heard the squeal of tires being abused on the ground. I looked up and saw Alice driving the car across the grassy border of the Comfort Inn and towards us.

"Dad, please stop this madness. What are you hoping to achieve with this?" I demanded.

"Death," Dad cried, punching a large hole through the metal door of the minivan.

"Don't do this," I pleaded, looking around for any bystanders. Luckily, like many small Washington towns, the streets were empty aside from a food supply truck every few minutes. Something in the air was pungent. Like the scent of a vampire. Electric and wired. I wanted to shoot my idiotic father. It looked like he had run all over the small town. Someone probably _had_ seen his little streaking incident.

"Edward," Alice screamed. She had parked the car on the opposite end of the little alleyway between the cars, blocking the other exit. The windows were rolled down. Demetri looked like he could rip the door off.

"No wonder you found me so quickly," Dad murmured, glancing at the Porsche. "I didn't think I'd hate that car so much, Alice." I saw the subtle shift in weight. My eyes widened. In half a second, Dad had backed up to the yellow car and gripped the backseat door from the inside.

There was a scream of metal as Edward yanked the poor door off the hinges. "Come on, Demetri. Come attack me," Dad whispered invitingly. It was just like when he was persuading Demetri to kill him in the woods. His voice was so tempting and persuasive. Alice's eyes were wide, but slightly dulled. I'd seen it many times before. She was trying to read the future and see reality at the same time.

Demetri didn't wait for another invitation. Before my eyes, I saw the tracker leap from the shadows of the Porsche, tacking Edward to the ground. I cringed, hearing the shriek of vampire skin being ripped apart.

"Dad!" I screamed, stepping forward tentatively. I knew it was useless. Someone was going to die in this battle. And what about humans? I was so frustrated.

"Having fun, Nessie?" I stiffened. I recognized the sickly sweet voice. Sue Clearwater.

She stood behind me, looking very macabre in a dark black coat and long, silvery blue skirt. She had changed since I last saw her. Sue's face was considerably…younger. I saw now the resemblance between her and Leah. Sue giggled, stroking her smooth cheek. Her eyes were alive with excitement. Now I could literally shoot myself for being so stupid. I _had_ sensed her presence but took it as Dad's scent.

I opened my mouth to warn the others.

"Shhh!" Sue warned me, placing a pale finger to her lips. "Don't ruin their fun."

"You're here! That's why Alice couldn't catch a vision of Dad! You were around here to block her visions!" I accused. My fury boiled below the surface, just waiting for me to loose it.

"Yup. Spot on!"

I studied the evil woman closely. "You're younger. By decades," I hissed.

Sue smiled. "You noticed! So nice!" She batted her eyelashes. "My last meal was particularly feisty with energy." She spun in place, letting her skirt twirl out from her in a flowery pattern.

"What vampire faced the unfortunate situation of meeting you?" I growled.

"Oh you should know them," Sue said with a grin. "I mean, not really. Those handsome Canadian vampires. But at least they had their final fun with me instead of that awful Demetri."

I tensed. I hadn't actually thought about what happened to them. I supposed that since Demetri was helping us, he had already taken care of the rebellious vampires. So Sue Clearwater had beat the 'best tracker in the world' to his prey. Admittedly, that was slightly intimidating.

"Oh, looks like your father isn't faring to well. But I still have money on his win," Sue noted casually. "He's much nicer than that Volturi guy—what's his face? Demi something."

"Demetri," I corrected, looking over my shoulder. She was right. Dad was still standing, but he was clutching his left arm like it was injured. I wonder why he was fighting back. He wanted to die so much. Something told me it had to do with pride. Alice had evacuated the car but was sitting across the parking lot. Her hands grasped her head tightly as she tried to focus on a clear future.

I looked back at Sue. Her grin was like a child's who took pleasure from watching…ants burn or something. "Why are you here?" I demanded.

"One of them is going to die," Sue said serenely. "I thought that was obvious."

"But that doesn't explain why you're _here_," I snapped. "Or do you just like vampire death matches."

Sue giggled like a little girl. She looked like she was 30 or something, but she still acted as if she had de-aged to 10. "I do like seeing vampires kill each other, but I'm not here just for watching purposes."

"What could you possibly do here?" I asked miserably. There hadn't been a car on this lonely turn off of the freeway, which was impossibly lucky. And no one had come out of the hotel or the diner.

Sue sighed and pointed at the two battling vampires behind me. "I'm hungry."

I coughed. "Huh?"

"Whoever dies is my afternoon snack," Sue explained casually.

"But—" I protested. But really, Sue hadn't told me, nor had I actually seen, how she eats. I expected it was like a vampire. Biting the victim on the neck or something.

Sue nodded. "Yup. I can feed that way. But if I need to, I can do it indirectly. The body has to be dead so it isn't nearly as tasty, but in these cases, I get some entertainment before I eat."

I felt sick. I couldn't exactly vomit, but I really felt like it.

"OOH!" Sue squealed. "He died! It's time! It's time!"

My eyes widened. Alice hadn't said anything, but there was still a chance. I looked up at the sky, praying to every God I knew that the winner was Edward.

I turned around.

**[[A/N: Don't forget to comment on this chapter! It's longer because I haven't put a chapter out in a while. This is my present. SO COMMENT PLEASE! FAVORITE IF YOU WANT TOO!]]**


	9. What I Want

**[[A/N: MWAHAHAHA! I'm so cruel, huh. I left the last chapter hanging. Who's dead? Edward or Demetri? And how the hell does Sue Clearwater factor into this? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what is going to happen to them all! Oohhh I'm shaking in my boots. Okay, well I'm going to hold off on the final conclusion and do another Edward POV for this.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Don't forget that the only thing here that is mine is the plot! Also, I encourage comments!]]**

--

_Last Chapter: _

_I felt sick. I couldn't exactly vomit, but I really felt like it. _

"_OOH!" Sue squealed. "He died! It's time! It's time!"  
_

_My eyes widened. Alice hadn't said anything, but there was still a chance. I looked up at the sky, praying to every God I knew that the winner was Edward._

_I turned around. _

_--_

Edward POV:

I never meant to hurt Nessie or Alice or anyone in my family. I can hear Bella's voice softly talking to me in the back of my head, but the words were too distorted to distinguish. I want to call out to her, but she remains hidden.

But now my daughter stands before me, burning my heart by staring through me with those eyes. Her large brown eyes that I loved…that constantly remind me of the human Bella who I fell in love with a century ago.

"Dad, please stop this madness. What are you hoping to achieve with this?" Nessie yells at me.

My vision is red with frustration. All I want is to be with my wife! Is that such a crime?! "DEATH!" I cry out angrily, punching through the door of the car next to me. The metal caves in around my fist like it was butter. Nessie's lips pull back over her teeth in a snarl automatically.

"Don't do this," she whispered, her eyes flickering to the left and right. I smirk. Go ahead and look for humans. I don't care. Nothing matters to me in this world. Does Nessie? Does my only child matter to me? I shake my head minutely—yes, but I know my heart is too cold for love at the moment.

"Edward!"

I want to groan, but I really shouldn't be surprised that Alice is here. "No wonder you found me so quickly. I didn't think I'd hate that car so much, Alice," I grumble darkly, stepping backwards to the yellow Porsche. It looks brand new, like the day I bought it for her as a bargaining chip to watch over Bella…No! No more reminders! Adrenaline surges through my mind. I lean in towards the back passenger door and grip the insides firmly. From the shadows of the tinted windows, I see Demetri crouched into a defensive position. I can't help but grin.

"Come on, Demetri. Come attack me," I murmur, yanking the door clear off its hinges. The scream of metal drowns my soft voice, but I know the tracker can hear ever word I say…and the challenge behind them.

Demetri's face curls into a malicious snarl before he leaps out of the backseat and tackles me to the ground. I can already see his skill—his dangerous teeth go straight for my neck. Too bad I'm stronger than before.

"Dad!" My heart tightens. I feel the instinctive, paternal guilt spread throughout my body. I ignore the urge to run over to Nessie and protect her. I'm sorry.

_You should be_. My lips twitch into a smile. My wife's voice echoes in my head much clearer than before.

I lean away just in time; the sharp vampire teeth skim my shoulder. I feel a blast of pain shoot up into my neck as the skin around my neck bone is shaved off. I grunt, kicking Demetri's chest with my foot. The tracker growls and flips backwards into a low crouch.

Before I can think that he is going on the defensive, Demetri launches himself at me with such force that I have to use the most of my agility to skitter backwards and out of the way. He runs past me and I take the opportunity to leap onto his back, gripping his left arm with my arms. I dig my hand into his arm with immense force. I hear the satisfactory screech. But before I am able to pull his entire arm out, Demetri turns on me, and I see his face isn't shocked at all. I snarl—I've fallen into a trap.

"Too naïve," Demetri hisses. He grips my hands, which are firmly gouged into his arm, and mimics my previous motions. But instead of aiming to tear into my limbs, he smashes his palm into my shoulder. I gasp, pulling out of his grasp. My arm burns with pain. Tentatively, I press my bicep where he it. The area tightens under my pressure. I know that it's useless now.

Demetri chuckles, but his eyes are on his own wound.

I glance back at Alice, a thought floating in my head that she could predict Demetri's movements. She was inside the car, outside my line of vision. I look at Demetri. "What did you do?" I spit.

"Hit your pressure point," Demetri replied before charging again. His speed is much increased than before. I pull back, maneuvering away from his direct path. But this time, Demetri doesn't blindly run past. His feet pivot gracefully, catching me off balance and about to fall on my back. His palm comes up from his side, aiming to hit my chest now. I wonder what that would do…my heart is already shut. But I don't plan on finding out. My right hand whips up from my side, grasping his wrist. With my left hand catching my body on the cement, I squeeze the tracker's hand with all my strength. I hear a resounding crack.

_What are you doing, Edward? You aren't trying. Win._

Demetri howls in pain, smashing his foot into my elbow. Thankfully it doesn't break, but it hurts like hell. And it causes me to let go. I let my arm flop to the ground beside me. Demetri backs up quickly. His crimson eyes are vigilant, aware of any signs of movement from me.

I get up and smile. Like a pair of dancers in a deadly tango, we both begin to circle each other, our feet side stepping in an intricate pattern.

"You will die now, Edward," Demetri snarls, his lips pulled back into a grimace. His hand flops loosely on his side. I feel pleasure for managing to break his wrist, but there isn't much victory in it since he basically took out my entire arm.

I manage to let out a sharp laugh. "We'll see. I have Lady Luck on my side." Demetri snorts. He stops moving. I do to. For a moment, we both just study each other. Then, like clockwork, we both surge forward.

My emotions are running so high that I can't feel anything but the surge of adrenaline. My tunnel of vision narrows to only the tracker.

_Edward…_

I hear the sharp sounds of vampire skin tearing.

**[[A/N: So I wasn't ready to make a decision to who dies, but I'm sure the people who read my entries regularly are itching to find out who dies. You guys all want Edward to live probably. But I personally have this illogical attachment to Demetri, the bitter Volturi tracker who lost his assignments to the evil Sue Clearwater. And so, if Demetri dies, how can I make his death worthy of the world's best tracker?]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: COMMENT! YAY! ]]**


	10. Author's Note Last Chapter Notice

Author's Note:

Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know that the next chapter will be the last of _this _story. I have definite plans to continue the rest of the story (a.k.a Sue's plot) at a later time. I don't plan to get started on the sequel immediately, but I'll post another Author's Note up with information on the continuation once I get to writing it.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this story! I had a blast writing it. It is the first story I've actually completed that has multiple chapters.

So, I'll tell you know that I will end the story on a cliffhanger. I'm not going to try to fit the Cullens vs. Sue Clearwater arc + the aftermath of Cullens vs. Sue Clearwater into one story. But anway, I'll just warn you know that there will be a definite death in the next chapter. Yes, I've decided who dies. Yes. I've already written their death scene in a gentle, non graphic manner (so to speak). No, I will not tell you anymore. Yes, I will flee for my frickin life if you come knocking on my doors with pitchforks and tazers. No, I don't like cookies (jk. jk.)

I'll get to uploading the final chapter very soon. I'm almost done writing it, and then I have to go through with my critical eye and spot any errors that may pop up. Hopefully I'll have it up this Friday.

Thanks,

Kame :]


	11. Parting Ways

**[[A/N: I'm not exactly **_**sure**_** how many people are actually staying with the story from chapter to chapter and are actually reading it…the story traffic stats can only tell an aspiring writer so much. ANYWAY! I hope you guys know that my opinions are my own. And c'mon. Who hasn't wanted to punch Edward in the face once? Just once to experiment. Well after reading this, please don't come after me with torches and pitchforks. I like life.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Yes, the decision was thought out. But once I decided who was going to die, I felt a pang of pity for the opposite party. So! Read on to find out who dies and becomes Sue's snack. OH! And I also think that ]]**

**[[3****rd**** A/N: I do not own anything but the plot in this.]]**

**[[4****th**** A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter may seem a bit…graphic. Death isn't a pretty thing to write.]]**

--

Renesmee POV:

I choked back a tearless sob. There were two bodies collapsed in heaps. Both lay in heaps on the cement. Blood didn't exactly ooze out of them…neither had a pulse. But the difference was that one was a whole body and the other was a pile of torn up limbs.

For a blissful moment, I didn't know which was my father. My mind twisted with all the possibilities. I didn't see the end of the fight.

There was a high pitch scream. Alice was hunched over on all fours outside her Porsche. Her dark eyes were aflame with anguish, locking onto the pile of vampire limbs. My heart skipped several beats. No. No. No. No. Impossible.

"DAD!" I screeched, rushing over to my father. I collapsed beside him. My hands shook violently, fluttering over the limbs like anxious butterflies. "DAD! DAD! DAD!" I almost began to think like a small child. I imagined my father as the white knight battling against the black hunter, and in stories, the good guys never die.

"It's too late for you to do anything," Sue shouted happily, skipping over to my side. I took a weak swipe at her shins, but my hands sliced through thin air. I snarled, but didn't say anything else.

"S-S-Sue?" Alice stuttered, crawling over. Her face was scrunched and pale. "How? How? Nessie was right."

Sue nodded. She leaned down and picked up Dad's right arm. I wanted to die. "NO!" I shouted. "HE ISN'T DEAD YET! WE CAN HELP HIM!" I leaned over Dad's body. "No."

Sue's dark eyes flashed. The lusted for my very soul, every soul around her—a savage, animalistic hunger. Her mouth trembled with suppressed amusement.

Alice had managed to reach me. Her thin arms wrapped securely around my arms, pulling me back. "Don't try it," she whispered. My eyes flashed down at my hands, clenched into fists. Alice had seen me attack Sue.

"Dear, dear Renesmee. Don't you see? I'm saving your life. How many times could I've killed you?" Sue reasoned, stroking Dad's dismembered arm like it was pet cat or something. Thank god for Alice's restricting limbs or I would've charged at Sue like a surging rapid.

"But Dad isn't dead yet," I persisted, trying to buy some time. Alice buried her head into my shoulder, her lips forming silent words. She was searching the future. Hopefully, she would find an outcome that ended happily. I continued but my voice cracked. "His limbs may be torn apart, but they aren't burned yet."

Sue snorted. Her voice cracked with a frayed emotion of a lunatic. Was it annoyance? Could Sue even feel annoyance? I thought all her negative emotions were taken from her by the mysterious man at the graveyard…

"Renesmee, why would I want to absorb energy from _ash_?" Sue asked impatiently, exhaling slowly. "Have you ever tried _eating_ ash? You think it'd taste good?"

My jaw dropped. "No. But Dad isn't dead! You said you'd pick one off when they're dead!"

"I lied." Sue flashed her perfect teeth. "I prefer them alive and kicking…" She glanced down at the torn off foot sticking out from the pile. "So to speak." She sniffed the arm slowly, inhaling the supposedly delicious aroma of my father's detached limb. Then, she tossed the thing carelessly back into the pile. I was just thankful that I couldn't see my father's head…but my heart still ached and screamed and pounded fast against my ribcage.

"Alice," I hissed. I glanced over my shoulder. "Why didn't you help us?"

"I was searching the future," Alice whimpered. "But something is wrong. I can't see anything. Like my gift is gone." Her eyes were dead with agony. "I can't see any future for us…There is only death."

I nearly collapsed with shock. Too much had our family relied on her visions to survive. I couldn't imagine how she was feeling, but all I felt was the primal urge to attack. I casually thought that maybe I could beat Sue with Alice's help. But it was useless. My father was going to die in front of me. My heart thudded faster and faster and faster.

Sue ignored us completely. It offended me _just_ a little that she was so condescending of our skills. She turned toward my father, her arms raised dramatically. Alice growled deep in her chest.

"Don't worry. This is the circle of_ life_." There wasn't any supernatural glowing to Sue's feeding. No glowing energy that transferred from Dad's body to hers. No misty figure that resembled Dad hovering over his body. Nothing like what I'd read in books. But one second Sue looked like a middle-aged adult and then her features suddenly melted away to reveal a much younger, teenage Sue. I stared in shock at my step-grandmother who now looked like she was my age…or younger.

Sue stroked her own face gently, probably inspecting the silky smooth texture. Her fingers were long and thin—devoid of any age spots that had been there before. She mouthed one word. "Tasty."

I shrieked in anger and pulled myself from Alice's arms. I sprung at Sue at a speed that rivaled Jake's fastest. My hands aimed to tear off Sue's head.

"You can't be serious," Sue commented, gliding one pace to the left. She dodged my attack as easily as she had done before but with much more grace. Her face was calm. Her grayed hair had fully darkened now and tumbled down her back in a waterfall of loose waves. She was the spitting image of Leah.

My breathing was ragged. I saw Alice stumble over to her brother, searching the pile for his head. I averted my gaze, not wanting to look upon those lifeless golden eyes.

Off a mile down the road, I recognized the roaring engine of the Cullen Jeep speeding towards us, faster than what was legal in most countries.

"They're here," I breathed with a sigh of relief. Alice gathered Dad in her arms and looked steadily at me. I didn't try to read her emotions. I knew what they were—the same as mine.

Sue smacked her lips but shook her head. "Another time then, Renesmee. I'm looking forward to it." She turned to leave.

"WAIT!" I cried, my voice raspy from shouting.

Sue paused. "Yes?"

"You killed my father," I stated, having not much else to say.

Sue laughed. "You aren't born to be an avenger, Renesmee. Neither is your family…but I'm sure I'll see you all again. I'll be anticipating it actually." She didn't wait for my response. Her speed had increased to the point that it looked as if she took a step into an invisible curtain.

--

Naturally, my aunt and uncles were devastated…no…there is no word for what they were. But seeing my face (and I must've looked like hell), they quickly stowed their own self pity and got to work.

Emmett quickly disposed of Alice's mangled Porsche in a distant, unexplored portion of the woods behind the hotel. I asked her what to do with Demetri. I was bitterly disappointed that the tracker heavily injured, but not in as bad a shape as Dad. Alice shrugged, unwilling to say more than she needed to. So instead I dragged Demetri's body over to a lone, bus bench. If someone saw him, he'd look like a drunken man who either a. got knocked out or b. has a nasty hangover.

We all huddled together in the Jeep, Rosalie driving with Emmett riding passenger. It was dark inside (someone had attached the waterproof cover to it). It surprised me how dark their eyes had gotten so quickly. Beside me, Alice curled up motionless in Jasper's lap. Her body rattled with every harsh breath she took. Jasper stroked her hair mechanically, staring straight at the back of Emmett's head. His scarred face was pulled into a forced, steely mask—I guessed that Rosalie and Emmett probably looked a pretty similar

I stared out the car window, but I didn't see anything. I refused to see anything. My head kept replaying my father's last moments—the moments I didn't see because I was too distracted by Sue. I had several different possibilities floating around in my head about how the fight went…but they all ended up with the same conclusion.

I felt like I should be angry or sad or in shock or something. But I didn't. I didn't feel grief for my dead parents. I didn't feel frustration over Alice's lack of action during the whole fight. I didn't feel rage towards Sue causing all of this to happen.

I felt nothing.

"What are you going to do?"

I jumped a little. I hadn't seen Alice pull herself up and lean on my shoulder.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I heard my voice. It was painfully monotone.

"About Sue? You were right all along." Alice's dark eyes were blazing with emotion. "I couldn't see her—she's just like a werewolf."

I looked down at my hands. They quivered–at least my body knew how to react, even though my mind didn't.

"I'll find her," I said. "I will…" I couldn't say anymore. I drowned out everything else but my shaking hands, burying my conscious in dull sorrow.

--

Edward POV:

The darkness is everywhere. The sudden urge to tell Carlisle "I told you so" doesn't seem to belittle the fact that I'm dead. And probably floating around in the abyss of Hell.

"Edward!"

The voice of honey and silk makes my breath catch. I spin around, waving my hands out crazily.

"BELLA!" I shout into the darkness. "BELLA WHERE ARE YOU?"

No wonder life doesn't give you what you ask for—it looks damn weird. As soon as I utter my wife's name, her translucent form steps out from the darkness, like there is a magical door that I can't see.

"Oh Bella," I moan, grasping her body in my arms. I'm surprised to find her arms hot with a steady pulse beating beneath her skin. I look into her eyes and see that her eyes are the chocolate brown color that I fell in love with.

"You look human," I gasp.

Bella laughs, her voice a chiming bell in my ears. "Just like you."

"Me?" I ask incredulously.

"Your eyes are such a beautiful shade of emerald," she replies. "Shame I never got to see them before."

I glance down at my own hands. The pale, rocky texture is replaced with soft, pale skin that looks absolutely foreign on my body. There is a large, dark freckle on the inside of my elbow. Somehow, I feel nostalgic just by looking at it.

"But why do we look human agan?" I ask.

"Your soul manifests your true being—your human form," Bella speculates.

"My soul." I say, not willing to believe the implied facts behind her words.

"Edward, you idiot," Bella says softly, stroking my hair. "You died. And by Sue."

"Sue?" I ask. "How does Sue fit into the picture?"

"Now I'm sure that Nessie told you. She should have," Bella mused. "I told her to tell you my message."

"She was telling the truth?" I say sharply. "I thought she was lying on my behalf."

Bella shakes her head sadly. "No…Sue is alive…and much different than before…"

"But I didn't see her when I died."

"You didn't see her?" Bella wonders aloud. "She must've been at the fight. Obviously…because you're here."

"Just where is _here_, Bella?" I ask, gesturing towards the empty darkness around us.

Bella shrugged. "If I had to guess, inside Sue Clearwater's soul."

My mouth fell open. "Why do you say that?"

"I encountered Sue's previous meal a while back—some Canadian vampires," Bella said. "And because I refuse to let this be my final resting place." Her deep, brown eyes stare off into the dark shadows around me, a repulsion clouding her features.

"Who ever said vampires went to heaven?" I counter.

"I do. And Carlisle," Bella snaps. Her lips draw together in a thin line. I lean down, tracing her mouth with my finger. Her cheeks flush red. I smile, remembering the past—a much simpler time.

"Just like before," I say.

"Enough," Bella says, trying to be stern.

I pull away, pulling on my straight face. "Okay, so tell me. How do we get out of here and go to heaven?"

Bella shakes her head again. "That we don't do. We're stuck here for now."

"For now?" I ask, confused.

"Until Nessie saves us," Bella says slowly. My eyes narrow down.

"How can she save us?" I ask.

Bella runs her fingers through my hair. "I'm thinking that if she kills Sue, our souls will be let free."

"She shouldn't have that burden. Besides, she doesn't even know we're in here," I protest.

"She will come…even if not for us," Bella retorts, her voice firm with resolve.

"Do you know that for sure?" I ask. "We can't be certain. We could live forever, here for eternity."

Bella smiles. "I _know _she will. Nessie will come for us." Something about my wife's voice comforts my newly thudding chest.

Despite the situation, I feel more calm than I have felt in the longest time. I feel at peace.

**[[A/N: Sorry for the delay! And here I end Return Home. This is the final chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this.]]**

**[[2****nd**** A/N: Now before you all beat me up/boil me alive/dismember me with butter knives/etc., please remember that I'm going to continue the story! Edward still has a chance at life (including Bella!)]]**


	12. Sequel Update!

**A/N:**

**HEY GUYS! I took a break after writing Return Home because I needed some relaxation. Writing is hard work. XDDD. So anyway I just want to tell you that I'll be starting up the sequel to my Twilight fanfic soon. YAY! *claps all around* **

**The plot will basically be a follow up of how Return Home. It'll follow the turmoil that Nessie experiences after losing both her parents, and the pressure she feels to become stronger. Hopefully I'll include more Jacob into this story—he kind of fell out of place last time. And the climactic end will feature a possibly deadly confrontation between Nessie and Sue. I have plans to start it…probably sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'll post the link in this story so make sure that you put some sort of alert up if you want to read it!!!**

**Thanks so much for supporting the story!!!**

**-- Kame ^(^-^)^**


	13. Sequel Has ARRIVED!

**DEAR EVERYBODY!**

**HEY GUYS THIS IS KAME! I promised the release of the sequel to Return Home in the near future, and here it is! I'm not going to post the link in here because I think if you guys wanted to read it enough, you'd take the time to go to my profile page and find the story. I don't have too many published, so it should be pretty easy to find. **

**This is the title: Heavy Burdens**

**Epic, huh? Well anyway, I'd just like to thank everyone for supporting Return Home. Hopefully you can enjoy the sequel just as much. **

**Thanks! 3**

**Kame**


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